Thursday, March 2, 2017

Media Reaction To Town Hall Questions Quite Different Under Trump

The mainstream media is so childishly, petulantly,
pathetically biased it is alternately funny and tragic. No one with an open
mind and a smattering of reason could fail to recognize this fact. It is all
the more deplorable because they
continually claim to be unbiased, equal opportunity watchdogs, and champions of
the American people.

Consider
their reaction to the (mostly staged) Town Hall grilling of Republican
congressman by plants, stooges and a few actual garden variety citizens. ABC,
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, et. al., gleefully fill up their newscasts with
video of people pleading for Obamacare to remain intact, castigating President
Trump, his policies and supporters, trembling with rage and fear, shouting at
their elected officials, and sometimes angrily storming out of the meeting
altogether. After these clips the anchors would reappear and, beaming
beatifically, extol the virtues of these plucky, ignored and abused pillars of
virtue- engaged, involved and informed- exercising their God-given rights in a
participatory democratic republic. Then, lower lip beginning to tremble now,
eyes glistening, they talk of the current president and his government
attempting to shut out the people, shut down the media, and exterminate women,
people of color, and the LGBT community.

Contrast
this with the media’s reaction to pointed but civil questions directed at
Obama, his policies and supporters, or any of his Democratic representatives in
general during Town Hall meetings over the previous eight years or so. This
self-same media would show brief clips of actual citizens standing up and
brazenly asking a direct question of Obama or his lackeys, occasionally in a
louder than conversational voice. After
these clips, the anchors would reappear and, exhibiting sorrowful, condescending
expressions on their faces, slowly shake their heads as they’d bemoan the
obvious ignorance and racism inherent in these radical right-wing extremists
attacking the very government that is so gallantly trying to help them.

This is
insulting and insane to anyone who truly believes in a free press and its
proper role in a democratic republic, much as it is to those who actually
believe in justice for all. In
actuality, it is the press who have the bully-pulpit. And who are doing the
bullying. Trump is one man, even if he is the President of the United States.
And he has to sleep. Throw in everyone in his administration, and it isn’t a
measurable fraction of the number of people in the mainstream media, who-
incidentally- control what we see and hear as “the news,” and who are presently
marching in lockstep/goosestep in an all-out attempt to destroy him.

Recently, on
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” co-host Mika Brzezinski responded to fellow co-host Joe
Scarborough’s comments on President Trump by saying, “Well,
and I think the dangerous edges here are that he is trying to undermine the
media, trying to make up his own facts. And it could be that while unemployment
and the economy worsens, he could have undermined the messaging so much that he
could actually control exactly what
people think – and that is our
job.” (Emphasis mine).

The media think it’s their “job” to “actually control
exactly what people think?” Nothing scary about that. Actually, there is. And,
even more terrifying, they are quite successful in doing just that.

Daily Trivia Quiz Answer

Today's Answer: Andrew Jackson. ("Poll" got so worked up before the service he apparently had to be removed from the premises, as he was cussing long and loud).

Q) What words appear on the front of the penny, nickel, dime and quarter, alongside the likeness of presidents?

A) "Liberty" and "In God We Trust"

An Ode To Life

Appreciate all you have, as it- and you- will soon be gone. Leave no heartfelt words unspoken, no sweet gesture incomplete, no act of love undone. Love your spouse with passion and abandon, your kids with patience and understanding but also a firm guidance. Love also the truth, no matter how hard. If pursued by enough people with enough courage, it really will set us free.

And don't forget, we didn't ask to be born. We didn't create ourselves. We are not gods. There is a higher power.

Fireworks of the Mind

Write It Up

Whence Shall Come Another?

True Then, True Now

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."- Winston Churchill

Time Well Wasted

The power lies within your hands To do with what you may But the hourglass is filled with sands Of endless yesterdays